DVD review: Doctor Who - the complete first series

Genre: Science fiction

Boxset info: 5 disc boxset containing all 13 episodes of the first series. This is the newer Doctor Who series that debuted in 2005.

Doctor Who was a successful British Scifi shows in the 60's and has a large cult following. I have not seen the original series so this was my first exposure to Doctor Who. The main protagonist Doctor Who is a alien who has a ship that can travel through space and time. Over the course of 13 episodes we see the good doctor do just that, along the way picking up a human companion Rose and a few other travelers from time to time.

The monster designs and the various set designs for the spacecrafts and space stations, give Doctor Who, a old time almost B movie kind of vibe. This combined with some pretty good special effects ends up giving Doctor Who a unique enjoyable style.

Each episode(or two) ends up being a self contained adventure. The stories are pretty varied and are set in the past, present and future. The writing on the show is very good and the pace of each episode is brisk. As the series goes on the characters get developed and we get to know more about the Doctor and his past. The acting of everyone in the show is very good. Christopher Eccleston in particular who plays the Doctor gives a fine performance.

The only downside to the boxset is the cost which is significantly more expensive then the norm.

Rating: 5 / 5, Highly recommended.

DVD review: Dexter-The complete second season

Genre: TV show about a serial killer. Dark drama.

Boxset info: 4 disc box set containing all 12 episodes of the second season.

Dexter season 1 really set a very high bar for the series and Dexter's producers and actors all step onto the plate and deliver a great second season. Checkout the first seasons review if you have not seen it yet. I'll not spoil anything from the second or first season in this review.

The first episode starts with the same seat of your pants pace as the season finale and the season continues to build on that. Due to the events in season 1 Dexter is facing some emotional issues. This is a first for him since he does not normally feel any emotion. Season 2 continues to peel the layers of Dexter's past and we continue to see other shocking twists to his past. His relationship with his girlfriend and her kids, his step sister and colleagues continue to hold our attention and continue to be interesting.

As the season goes on Dexter's life gets more and more complex and one has to wonder if the writers would be able to resolve everything. So it is gratifying that the season finale manages to resolve things very nicely. I can't wait to see where season 3 will lead to.

Rating: 5 /5, Highly recommended.

DVD review: Dexter-The complete first season

Genre: TV show about a serial killer. Dark drama.

Boxset info: 4 disc box set containing all 12 episodes of the first season.

This show is about a Serial killer who works as blood spatter expert for Miami police. Thats the initial hook of the show and the show grows very well from that initial setup. The main character Dexter is setup as a good serial killer i.e. he only kills very bad people - other serial killers and over the season there is a good chance you will end up liking the character Dexter.

The show builds a lot on Dexter's interactions with other characters on show, from his step sister, girlfriend and colleagues to his dead step-father who appears in various flashbacks. These interactions are fun and interesting because Dexter does not feel human emotions like normal people and he has to fake a lot of it. Over the season the layers around Dexter's mysterious past are peeled away and we get taken along for a rollicking good ride.

The writing is very good with Dexter's character narrating and giving us a unique perspective on the events as they occur. All the actors put in top notch performances. This is a excellent show.

Rating: 5 / 5, Highly recommended.

Also see: Dexter-Season 2 review